Messi mania turns Miami into America's soccer city - as big decisions loom

It is a Hollywood scriptwriter's dream - and a glorious reality for the tournament organisers. Lionel Messi will be pitted against his former club and the reigning European champions in the last 16 of the Club World Cup. Inter Miami against Paris St-Germain in Atlanta on Sunday is expected to attract one of the biggest crowds of the tournament so far, with the Messi factor a large reason. There was huge controversy about how Inter Miami and Messi entered the expanded new-look tournament. Fifa granted, in a one-off rule, a host-nation slot to a US club for this expanded 32-team edition. And instead of MLS Cup play-off winners LA Galaxy, they chose Inter Miami, who are the 2024 MLS Supporters' Shield winners by virtue of having the best regular-season record. But, despite the pre-tournament scepticism, Inter's unbeaten run in the group matches puts them into the knockout stages on merit. Up next are Luis Enrique's PSG, currently regarded as the best football team on the planet, who will go head to head with most people's choice as the greatest player of all time. Messi's impact on Miami has been seismic, but what comes next for the 39-year-old eight-time Ballon d'Or winner, and will he be back on the big stage with Argentina to defend the World Cup next summer? Lionel Messi signed for Inter Miami from Paris St-Germain in 2023 Inter Miami know well that if you have an ace up your sleeve in the shape of Messi then you use it by playing to his strengths. The Argentine'swinner against Portowas his 50th goal for the club and also made Miami the first club from the Concacaf region to beat a major European side in an official competition. They have since qualified for the knockout stages, sending Porto home and setting up a mouth-watering encounter against Messi's former employers PSG. Messi has never been eliminated in the group stage of any major international competition - not with Argentina, not with Barcelona, not with PSG, and now not with Inter. His role now though is perhaps a little different to what it used to be. These days he plays deeper and closer to midfield and defence, much more in a ball-collecting position, allowing him to launch attacks from further back, either with runs through the middle or by spreading passes to either wing. Over and above everything else, what remains undimmed is a ferocious competitive spirit and a passionate desire to win. This is something that is borne out by his anger and frustration, which he showed when a two-goal leadwas lost to Palmeirasin the final group game - not because it cost Inter Miami being group winners but simply because it meant they failed to win the game. Winning is, has always been, and always will be, paramount to Messi; it is his reason for playing. The Messi effect extends much further than merely from what happens on the pitch. Inter Miami, co-owned by Sir David Beckham, were just three years old as a club whenMessi signed for them two years ago. He chose them over the world record numbers on offer from Saudi Arabia because he was assured they had a project in place that would make Miami the beating heart of US football. He is still reportedly the highest paid player in MLS but on a significantly lower sum than was offered elsewhere. The Inter Miami model has ensured the arrival of top players, combined with establishing an elite mentality from the owners to the players and then all the way down to the academy. And Messi is in line to become a co-owner of the franchise when he retires. Had Barcelona been able to offer him anything remotely similar, he would have joined them and played for nothing - or, to make it legal, for the minimum wage. In the end, despite conversations with then-manager Xavi about a role not unlike the one we're now seeing at Inter Miami, the much-anticipated talk of his return to Catalonia amounted to little more than politically expedient hot air, to appease the masses. Barcelona offered nothing in the way of a contract nor even the slightest clue how they might be able to register him if he did return. True to their word, Miami, since Messi's arrival, has become America's soccer city. A higher class of player has been attracted to the club - like Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba - bringing greater focus, more fans, better chances of victory, more sales and bigger profits to the club. The winning mentality that now runs from top to bottom was demonstrated just days ago as the club's under-17 side won the 2025 MLS NEXT Cup title in Nashville. There is now talk about holding a youth tournament for around 16,000 youngsters. Interest in 'soccer' is growing and a lot of it stems from the arrival of Messi. Furthermore, the influence of Inter Miami extends beyond the boundaries of the United States. The club currently sell more shirts than Juventus, and Vogue magazine features Messi's shirts as a fashion item. Success brings more success, with increased sponsorship deals, corporate boxes sold out and with a waiting list and a host of footballing superstars including the likes of Luka Modric, Kevin de Bruyne and Neymar making contact via representatives about possibly joining. But MLS roster rules do not allow them to take on any more big contracts. The Messi effect has created, much earlier than expected, a winning team. They have won two trophies in a year and a half, and there is a footballing frenzy which ensures that wherever Messi plays, every stadium is packed. It has been reported MLS teams have earned more than$80m (£58m),externalin extra revenue when Inter Miami come to town, through dynamic ticket pricing. Miami attracted their record attendance for a football match when 62,358 fans flocked to Soldier Field in Chicago in April. Soon after, Miami played at Columbus Crew in front of 60,614 fans — the largest home crowd in Crew history and the biggest non-NFL crowd in the Huntington Bank Field stadium's history. At the current Club World Cup, Inter Miami have played in two of just the six matches to attract more than 60,000 fans. Lionel Messi has scored 50 goals for Inter Miami since joining in 2023 Will he commit his future to Inter Miami? After an unhappy two-year stay in Paris, on a personal level, the Messi family are in a good place in Miami. If his family are happy, then so is Messi. His wife Antonella is a face of Tiffany in the US as well as working with other brands such as Adidas. His three sons are all playing in the youth teams and Messi goes to watch every game they play. Those close to him say that they are in talks to extend his stay at the club. He has a contract until the end of the year, although to date they have yet to hammer out a firm agreement on an extension. What he has said, however, is that in principle this will be the club where he will end his playing career, although football constantly shows us that nothing should ever be taken for granted. What about next summer's World Cup? Nobody knows, least of all, Messi himself. At the moment he is just taking it game by game, tournament by tournament. If he renews and stays in America, he'll evaluate the situation when he needs to, but for the time being he is just taking things step by step. Everyone involved wants to see him leading Argentina at the World Cup in America in a year's time. But he has not indicated to anyone what his final decision is. That is how you have to deal with Messi: let him take the decision at his own time. But the suspicion is that the 2026 World Cup could be his swan song with the national team. For now the only footballing matter on his mind will be how to create the mother of all shocks against Luis Enrique's PSG. It seems unlikely, except for the fact that if there is one thing we've learned after years of watching the little wizard weave his magic, it's that, if anyone can, Leo can.